5 Quinoa Benefits and Recipes You’ll Love

Quinoa has quickly become one of the most popular health foods in the world, especially in the US, Canada, and many other countries.

The reasons it’s so popular are plenty: it tastes good, it’s nutritious, it helps you lose weight, you can cook lots of ways with it, and it’s gluten free!

Read on to find the Top 5 Benefits of Quinoa, my delicious quinoa recipes, and discover why you should be eating more of this stuff.

What is Quinoa?

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is by definition the seed of a plant that is prepared and consumed like a whole grains food.

The quinoa plant originated in the Andean region of South America and has been a staple food of the local people for thousands of years. The ancient Incas referred to it as the “Mother of All Grains”.

It comes in lots of forms, including quinoa flakes, quinoa flour, quinoa grains, or puffed quinoa. There are three popular varieties: white quinoa, black quinoa, and red quinoa.

They all taste about the same, except the red and black have a slightly crunchier texture and the white tends to puff up a little more when cooked.

Quinoa Benefits

Here are the top 5 proven health benefits of quinoa:

1. Very high in protein. Quinoa is one of the most protein rich foods there is. Not only is it an easy to eat vegetable protein, it’s a COMPLETE protein containing all nine essential amino acids. (1)

2. Rich in nutrients. Quinoa has a very high nutritional value, containing important nutrients like iron, lysine (for tissue growth and repair), riboflavin (B2), manganese, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. NASA has actually been examining the possibility of using quinoa in outer space thanks to it’s very high nutritional value. (2, 3)

3. High in fiber. One of the best quinoa health benefits is its high fiber content. Studies have found that one cup of quinoa contains approximately 17 to 25 grams of fiber, making it one of the highest fiber grains available. Unfortunately, most of the fiber is in insoluble form, which doesn’t have all the same health benefits of soluble fiber, but it still helps add up to more quinoa health benefits. (4)

5. Very high in antioxidants. Quinoa happens to be very high in antioxidants. Antioxidants help your body remove free radicals, which helps fight premature aging and other diseases. (6)

Is Quinoa Good for Weight Loss?

Quinoa can help with weight loss. It’s is high in protein, which can help increase your metabolism and reduce your appetite a lot.

It also contains a good amount of fiber (17-15 grams per serving), which help you feel more full and reduces how many overall calories you consume. (7)

How to Cook Quinoa

Cooking recipes made with quinoa is pretty easy because it’s so simple and easy to cook because it’s one of my favorite dishes to make .

Important Tip: Always RINSE IT FIRST in a fine mesh strainer with cool water for about 2 minutes.

Rinsing removes quinoa’s natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter or soapy. Boxed quinoa is often pre-rinsed, but it doesn’t hurt to give the seeds an additional rinse at home.

Quinoa Cooking Instructions

Measure 1 cup of quinoa and place into a fine mesh strainer. Rinse thoroughly with cool water for about 2 minutes.

Dump rinsed quinoa in rice cooker or medium pot.

Add 2 cups water or broth.

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat until all the liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes.

That’s it. In about fifteen minutes you’ll have hot fluffy cooked quinoa to play with.

Makes 3 cups of cooked quinoa. If you want more or less, the correct quinoa to water ratio is generally about 1 cup of uncooked quinoa to 2 cups of water or broth.

I recommend adding some herbs, spices, or whatever you like to flavor it up a bit. I also like to add in fresh veggies sometimes for extra crunch and nutritional benefits.

Quinoa Recipes

There are a lot of healthy quinoa recipes you can make that are also easy to prepare. Because quinoa can be substituted for almost any recipe that calls for rice, the quinoa cooking possibilities are virtually endless.

Easy quinoa recipes tend to make the best quinoa recipes since it’s such a natural and basic ingredient. It pairs especially well with salads.

I’ve provided a few basic quinoa recipe examples to get you started:

Mediterranean / Greek Quinoa Salad

This salad is so delicious and easy, you’ll probably find yourself eating it everyday! You can pre-cook the quinoa in large quantities and pre-make the vinaigrette so it’s easy to toss together in less than 5 minutes!

Serves 2 as a meal or 4 as a side dish

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette-

Juice of one lemon

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, gently smashed

½ teaspoon honey (optional, you can skip honey by using ½ lemon and ½ orange juice in place of all lemon juice)

1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley (optional)

Salad

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 cup chopped cucumber

1 tomato sliced into 8 wedges

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved

1/3 cup feta cheese

1 tablespoon chopped pepperoncinis (optional)

1 teaspoon juice from kalamata olive jar (or pepperoncinis if you like spicy)

Get started:

Add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a mason jar, cover and shake up and set aside. If you don’t have a jar whisk the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Add the quinoa and ½ cup water to a small sauce pan. Add 1 teaspoon of the kalamata olive juice to the quinoa. Move to the stovetop and cook on low heat, covered until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. While it cooks make the salad.

In a large bowl combine the cucumber, tomato, onion, pepperoncinis and olives. Once the quinoa has absorbed all the water add it to the salad. Remove the garlic clove from the vinaigrette with a fork, discard and add the vinaigrette to the salad, alternatively you can hold a strainer over the salad and add the dressing while straining out the garlic clove. Toss the dressing and salad until all is covered, move to 2-4 plates and top with feta cheese.

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

This makes for an amazing side dish, I love it at backyard BBQ’s and have brought it to many potlucks… people love it and gobble it up fast!!

If you can’t find fresh herbs, dried will work, but just use ½ tablespoon as they are much stronger.

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 cup cooked quinoa

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 shallot finely chopped

2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon good Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (parsley and cilantro are also good)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Get started:

In a large Tupperware container combine all ingredients, cover and give a good shake (shake over your sink just in case) place in the fridge for an hour or overnight until you are ready to serve. You can serve cold or room temperature whatever you prefer. Just put it in a pretty bowl before serving.

Mexican Quinoa Salad

Another great side dish, if you like add in some cooked chicken or Carne Asada for a meal! Watch out, once you eat this you will crave it often.

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

2 hearts of Romaine lettuce chopped

2 cups baby spinach chopped

1/4 cup frozen corn kernels

1/2 red onion or 1 shallot chopped

½ cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup black beans (canned is fine) drained and rinsed

1 red r yellow bell pepper, chopped

Handful of fresh cilantro (optional) roughly chopped

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Juice of one orange (hold 1/2 teaspoon back)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

One garlic clove smashed but still intact

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Powder

1 teaspoon dried cilantro

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Get started:

Start with the dressing, the longer it marinates the better the flavor. Add all the ingredients in a clean jar or medium bowl. Add the top to the jar and shake well, until everything is incorporated. Place in the fridge until you are ready to serve, allow to marinate for one hour, to overnight.

In a large bowl combine the lettuce, spinach, corn, onion, quinoa, beans, bell pepper, and cilantro. Drizzle the salad dressing over the Mexican Caesar Salad and toss together. Divide onto two plates, top with tortilla strips and serve.

Blueberry Quinoa Muffins

These are Blueberry Quinoa Muffins, but you can swap the dried blueberries for ½ cup chocolate chips for Chocolate Chip Quinoa Muffins. You can also swap the blueberries and the vanilla out for ½ cup chopped apples and ½ teaspoon cinnamon for Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Muffins.

Makes 24 muffins

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup cooked quinoa (about ¾ cup uncooked)

2 cups whole wheat flour (or your favorite gluten free flour)

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup sugar (raw sugar and coconut sugar are both good options)

3 eggs

¾ cup Greek yogurt

½ cup unsweetened Almond milk

½ cup dried blueberries

1 teaspoon vanilla

Get started:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 24 muffin cups with olive oil, or coconut oil, and set aside. Should you choose to use muffin liners you will need to spray the insides of them so the muffins won’t stick.

In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, flour, baking soda and sugar. Mix together until the flour and sugar is evenly distributed over the quinoa.

Add in the eggs and whisk to break them up, then add in the Greek yogurt, almond milk, blueberries (hold a few back for the tops) and vanilla. Mix together until just combined, then use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the dough and fill the muffin cups.

Bake for 23-28 minutes until firm to the touch, remove from the oven and let cool in the muffin cups for 10-20 minutes before using a butter knife to help slide them out.

Move extras to a storage bag, they will hold in the fridge for 5 days and in the freezer for a month.

Quinoa Nutrition

Quinoa tastes delicious, but it’s the health benefits of quinoa that really makes it a true “superfood”. It is a nutrition powerhouse full of protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other beneficial elements.

It’s also full of protein and is one of the few plants that contains all 9 amino acids; so needless to say there is a lot of protein in quinoa. Generally, the quinoa protein amounts come in around 8 grams of protein per cup, which if you compare quinoa vs. brown rice, it contains over 62% more protein per 1 cup serving than brown rice, which is about 5 grams per cup.

The calories in quinoa come in around 222 calories per 1 cup serving. The carbs in quinoa are about 39 grams per serving, which is slightly below brown rice (at 45 grams per serving). The amount of quinoa calories are about the same as brown rice (at 218 calories per serving), but it packs a much more protein-packed punch, and that’s great news in my opinion!

I’ve been asked before “Is quinoa gluten free?” and the answer is YES!

In addition to all the other quinoa benefits, it’s also a gluten free food, which should make those who suffer from celiac disease or gluten sensitivity happy(er).

Conclusion

Whether you have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you’ll always be doing your body good by eating more of this stuff. You can eat quinoa for weight loss – quinoa for better health – quinoa for a delicious meal,

It truly is a superfood.

I would love you hear your feedback and any of the quinoa benefits or recipe ideas in the comments below.

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